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Thunderbirds (TV)
For other uses of Thunderbirds see Thunderbirds (Disambiguation) Thunderbirds is an acclaimed television show originally aired in the mid 1960s. It was the fourth Gerry Anderson show to be filmed in Supermarionation and the second in Videcolor. It is the most popular and fondly remembered of all Gerry Anderson shows. Plot The series takes place in the year 2065. It tells the story of the International Rescue Organisation, headed by millionaire and former astronaut Jeff Tracy. Other members of the organisation are Jeff's five sons: Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John, a scientific genius and engineer "Brains" - constructor of the Thunderbirds craft, and agents scattered all around the world, the most important of which are Lady Penelope and her butler Parker. Using their sophisticated rescue equipment, the mission of International Rescue is to save people in distress no matter where in the world the help is needed. History After hearing of a tragic disaster in a German mine, in which rescue equipment was too remote to get there on time to save the trapped men, Anderson was inspired to create a new series. "International Rescue" would be its name, and special craft, named Rescue 1 through 5, would be the ultimate rescue tools, super-fast, superpowerful, and extraordinary. The initial pitch to Lew Grade started with Gerry saying it might not be a show he (Grade) would be interested in financing. Grade promptly responded by grabbing Gerry on the shoulder and saying, "Gerry. Do you see that light bulb up there? If you wanted to make a TV show about that light bulb, I would finance it!" Thus the real pitch began. However, the name of the programme, and the vehicles, would change to Thunderbirds when he was inspired by writing to his older brother, who was in the United States during World War II, he referred to an American Air Force base known as "Thunderbird Field." When Gerry showed his half-hour pilot to Lew Grade, Grade responded, "Gerry, this is not a series; this is a FEATURE FILM!!!" Thereupon he told Anderson to expand all the episodes produced to an hour-long format. Main Characters Jeff Tracy.png|Jeff Tracy (Peter Dyneley) Scott_Tracy(1).png|Scott Tracy (Shane Rimmer) Virgil_Tracy.png|Virgil Tracy (1. David Holliday) (2. Jeremy Wilkin) Alan_Tracy(1).png|Alan Tracy (Ray Barrett) Gordon_Tracy(1).png|Gordon Tracy (David Graham) John_Tracy(1).png|John Tracy (Ray Barratt) Grandma_Tracy.png|Grandma Tracy (Christine Finn) Brains.png|Brains (David Graham) Kyrano.png|Kyrano (David Graham) Tin-Tin.png|Tin-Tin Kyrano (Christine Finn) The_Hood(1).png|The Hood (Ray Barratt) Lady_Penelope.png| Lady Penelope (Sylvia Anderson) Parker(1).png|Aloysius Parker (David Graham) Main Equipment The Thunderbirds 1.png|Thunderbird 1 8.png|Thunderbird 2 TB3.png|Thunderbird 3 25.png|Thunderbird 4 1_(16).png|Thunderbird 5 The Pod Machines Booster_Mortar.png|Booster Mortar 57.png|High-speed Elevator cars Size_(a).png|The Mole 3_cof.png|The Firefly Mi641.png|The Excavator Move744_-_Copy.png|Jet air transporter SP21.png|Laser beam equipment Pp854.png|Monobrake POP338.png|Recovery vehicle Episodes (Production Order) Season 1: # Trapped In The Sky # Pit Of Peril # City of Fire # Sun Probe # The Uninvited # The Mighty Atom # Vault Of Death # Operation Crash-Dive # Move - And You're Dead # Martian Invasion # Brink Of Disaster # The Perils Of Penelope # Terror In New York City # End Of The Road # Day Of Disaster # Edge Of Impact # Desperate Intruder # 30 Minutes After Noon # The Impostors # The Man From MI.5 # Cry Wolf # Danger at Ocean Deep # The Duchess Assignment # Attack of the Alligators! # The Cham-Cham # Security Hazard Season 2: # Atlantic Inferno # Path Of Destruction # Alias Mr. Hackenbacker # Lord Parker's 'Oliday # Ricochet # Give Or Take A Million (Broadcast Order) Season 1: # Trapped In The Sky # Pit Of Peril # The Perils Of Penelope # Terror In New York City # Edge Of Impact # Day Of Disaster # 30 Minutes After Noon # Desperate Intruder # End Of The Road # The Uninvited # Sun Probe # Operation Crash-Dive # Vault Of Death # The Mighty Atom # City of Fire # The Impostors # The Man From MI.5 # Cry Wolf # Danger at Ocean Deep # Move - And You're Dead # The Duchess Assignment # Brink Of Disaster # Attack of the Alligators! # Martian Invasion # The Cham-Cham # Security Hazard Season 2: # Atlantic Inferno # Path Of Destruction # Alias Mr. Hackenbacker # Lord Parker's 'Oliday # Ricochet # Give Or Take A Million Other Media Stories Movie *Thunderbirds Are Go *Thunderbird 6 Film *Thunderbirds to The Rescue -- a compilation of the installments "Trapped in the Sky" and "Operation Crash Dive." *Thunderbirds in Outer Space -- a compilation of the installments "Sunprobe" and "Ricochet." *Countdown To Disaster -- a compilation of the installments "Terror in New York City" and "Atlantic Inferno." Merchandise Books *Thunderbirds (Novel) by John W. Jennison|John Theydon *Calling Thunderbirds by John W. Jennison|John Theydon *Thunderbirds: Operation Asteroids by John W. Jennison *Thunderbirds: Lost World by John W. Jennison *Lady Penelope: Cool For Danger by Kevin McGarry *Lady Penelope: A Gallery Of Thieves by Kevin McGarry *Thunderbirds: Ring Of Fire by John W. Jennison|John Theydon *Lady Penelope: The Albanian Affair by John W. Jennison|John Theydon *Countdown To Action! by Joan Marie Verba *Action Alert! by Joan Marie Verba *Deadly Danger by Joan Marie Verba *Situation: Critical by Joan Marie Verba Audio Books *Introducing Thunderbirds (audio) *FAB (audio) *The Stately Homes Robberies (audio) Soundtrack Thunderbirds (soundtrack vol.1)|First volume of the soundtrack for Thunderbirds TV series, written by Barry Gray has been released on CD from Silva Screen Records on 25th of March 2003. Nine months later Silva Screen Records released the Thunderbirds (soundtrack vol.2) of the soundtrack. Trivia *The year in which Thunderbirds takes place has always been in debate, while the canon suggests the year would be 2026 (src), Gerry himself disagrees, claiming the true year to be 2065, 100 years into the future at the time it was made. **In a similar vein, the birth orders of the Tracy brothers has also been controversial; John and Virgil often swap places as second and third eldest. However, official canon (Original reaserch?) states that John is the second and Virgil is the third, as this is the order they appear in the title sequence. External links *Thunderbirds Wiki Category:Thunderbirds Category:Supermarionation Category:Television Series Category:Supermarionation Television Series